Episode 7 - Tumblr Posts
Being sick is an Excuse: Episode Seven
I hurt my shoulder at the gym today. The pain is bad enough that I'm feeling nauseous.
My partner went to get me muscle relaxers, and I'm in the shower filled with doubt. Is the pain really that bad or am i making it up.
Imagine questioning the existence of your own pain while feeling pain.
If that doesn't sum up your brain after abuse I don't know what would.
I watched Joel's 7th episode of Secret Life first this Friday, and by god, watching the start of the infection and the resulting domino effect from his point of view was terrifying.
His episode felt like a horror movie.
(spoilers for Joel's ep7)
Joel desperately tries to avoid contact as he watches the infection go from person to person via death messages in chat, quickly realizing something strange is happening. Sneaking in and out of others' bases to avoid being ambushed. Seeing the horde of growing zombies gathering at a distance as they search for victims.
Joel, watching the other players fall one by one, realizing just how many infected players are running around now.
I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of his episode.
I defy any of you to listen to this and tell me the dub wasn’t leaning towards the idea Lunarre had affection for Alisha. Hell, he even responds with “What, I can’t say hello?” when Alisha asks what he’s doing there.
Though he is far more grounded in general (speech wise) than his Japanese counterpart in general, it’s particularly noticeable in this scene with Alisha. There’s barely a hint of malice in his voice (whereas in the Japanese version it’s practically dripping off every word) and he overall sounds like he just wants to chat.
That, and the way he talks sounds as if he is trying to dissuade her to a) help her, in his way, by stopping her from being fucked over by the people she’s compelled by duty to save, and/or b) to confirm his own cynical/self-serving/lonesome worldview is correct. Certainly not to tempt Alisha to the dark side, anyway. That’s how I hear it anyway.
Just in case you haven't finished the anime I'm going to put my two pence under cut here.
Warning: it's going to be a long one because imo this scene encapsulates everything wrong with the anime adaption as well as how they handled the characters of both Lunarre and Alisha specifically.
Also SPOILERS for the Zestiria game and anime.
Personally I think this scene was mishandled horribly, and if it really set out to be what you said then especially so.
1. MISSED OPPORTUNITY/CONFUSED MOTIVES
OK, let's say for a moment that in this scene Lunarre is trying to lure Alisha away to the dark side (literally and figuratively). Here is the big problem with that:
Why the hell didn't he do this one season ago in goddamn episode 0?
Seriously. Alisha, after unknowingly coming into contact with Symonne, had lost three of her close friends and supporters to insane forces of nature/magic she at that point can barely comprehend let alone fight against. They all died right in front of her and even her attempt to save at least the last person she had failed. In spite of everything she was powerless.
Lunarre, as we saw, wasted no time getting involved and protected his 'main dish' from Symonne. When Symonne leaves, Lunarre is left entirely alone with a distraught and defeated princess Alisha sobbing close by.
This final scene was practically writing itself and begging for Lunarre to close the distance and torment the Princess at her most vulnerable. This is the most broken Alisha gets during the entire anime (in Lunarre’s presence at the very least). Failure to capitalise on this is to forever lose the opportunity to break her down again. And Lunarre, for reasons best known to no-one and especially not himself, leaves her to her grief.
Remember at this point that she is his 'main dish' whom he failed to kill before (quite recently) and whom he (presumably) wished to kill himself without anyone getting in his way.
Did her crying move him to pity? If so, and if he gave a damn for her emotional well being already at this early stage and from that point on (referring to her as an object of interest to others whom he vaguely wished to observe and support) then why try to manipulate her emotionally as a big bad wolf (fox) a season later and under decidedly less favourable circumstances? Why play the villain now?
2. NO STAKES = NO TENSION
From the prologue on Alisha never, and if so barely, wavers in her resolve thanks to the writers removing Maltran as a villain in the story. Her betrayal was the final straw for Alisha in the games and we saw her break down and wail on Sorey's shoulder that she didn't give a damn what happened anymore and how meaningless her ideals were all this time.
After everything she's gone through, the death/suicide of her beloved mentor, who had instilled in her ideals she not only didn't believe in but openly mocked, who had manipulated her for years for evil purposes while acting as her mentor/mother figure through her darkest times... everything Alisha had believed in was in tatters and she was emotionally broken in a manner similar to the anime prologue.
Imagine if instead of Sorey and the gang arriving to comfort her and steady her it had been Lunarre - Lunarre here to take advantage of her weakness? More than any other moment that would have been the one to do it. And I think he would have got his way, if left uninterrupted. I genuinely think Alisha could have been corrupted by malevolence at least to some degree by Lunarre.
I don't see that in that scene in episode 7 of season 2.
In this scene, Alisha is unsure of what to do with regards to her mentor. Save her or fight her way to the castle to confront the king? It's not a crisis of her beliefs but rather being torn between two decisions, of which she can pick but one. The most Lunarre could do would be to dissuade her from one or the other, but not throw in the towel.
I think they were, as you say, going for the whole 'dark side manipulation' thing. They try to put that across in the music, the lighting, and of course Lunarre's words and behaviour (especially in the Japanese version - in English Lunarre sounds more curious/incredulous than outright malicious... which confuses things more).
But on top of the obvious question of why he never tried doing this when the opportunity was RIGHT THERE in front of him crying into a great big crack in the earth, a season and a bit ago, there's why he's even doing it at all if he didn't do it then and how it was never going to work. For all Ufotable's effort I never felt even a bit worried Alisha would crack.
Alisha is having trouble with a decision, as I said. She's got the backing of her loyal soldiers and Sorey and the gang to count on. She also has Maltran, though in peril. In the games, losing Maltran was losing a mother and her most trusted and beloved supporter since her true mother's death. Everything has spiralled out of control, war is inevitable despite all her efforts and it looks as if she has entirely failed as a princess and her ideals have done nothing but cause more harm.
Thus she was broken and distraught at her betrayal and death and it was only thanks to Sorey and gang being close by to help that she recovered.
In the anime, she still has her support. She has options, and her ideals, as Maltran confirms to Lunarre later, flow nicely into the option she picks (putting others first instead of herself). She can't be corrupted in this scene because there is no foundation for it to happen on. That moment has been and gone.
Alisha lets her guard down because Lunarre is not a threat to her anymore and she realises this. She gets up expecting round 2 of their prologue battle, but sees it isn't going to happen and sits back down.
Besides Lunarre's behaviour, there's the fact that he has followed her all this time and not tried to kill her. He is more interested in talking than fighting, and she responds in kind.
[^ So threatening!]
While the lighting and music suggest otherwise, Alisha remains entirely steadfast throughout this scene for all the reasons above. She is calm and only mildly irritated by Lunarre's probing. Hell, she doesn't even look him in the face until one moment near the end of the scene when she tells him acting while knowing is better than ignorance.
So really, imo there was no question who was going to emerge victorious from this scene right from the fact.
If Lunarre was playing the evil conscious, he fucked it up. Ufotable fucked it up. If he had tried to do it when the time was right it may have turned out very differently, but no. If I was to be cynical I'd say the scene was only added to hammer in just how virtuous and steadfast Alisha is (not to bash her, I like Alisha) rather than to expose and truly test her vulnerabilities.
But that’s just my long-winded opinion ;)
I’m finding it interesting that Lunarre seems to have become a representation of Alisha’s inner conflict, at least that’s what I got from the scene with the way they used the lighting as well as the music. Alisha’s face was half in the light and half in the dark with Lunarre on the dark side, so it looked like he was playing the ‘evil conscious’ in this episode. I’m also thinking about the way Alisha dropped her guard around Lunarre - maybe it represents Alisha is dropping her guard against her own darker thoughts, especially since the creepy music only started to play when Alisha both dropped her guard and admitted that humans were weak. Though in the end her ‘good conscious’ won through, but will it always… it’s making me worried for the next episode especially since Maltran’s involved. I’m also curious to know if Lunnarre will be used in this way again or not.
Sum it up in one word for someone who hasn’t seen it
I know I'm not really in the MD Fandom anymore but I still love the series so I'm gonna watch episode 7
Wish me luck!
bell trying to avoid the booty
Moonjo @ Jongwoo: I think real courage is hurting people you hate <3
Jongwoo the next day: I'm gonna fuck up this keyboard and those students so badly
It's apparently ghost time. And they all keep calling someone "That crazy woman." I assume they are referring to the Master of the Unfaithful List, Tragicomic Ghost.
Well, that was a real shotgun wedding.
ZZS: Our fate is over. *proceeds to follow Chengling*
We ghosts do all sorts of bad things, but we don't break promises sounds like something a promise breaker would say. But all this makes me wanna write a fic where Tragicomic Ghost exists in MDZS.
Shen Shen how dare you speak about our precious lamb Chengling like that? He isn't useless, just untrained. Sheesh.
Why would a child lie to you? LOL that is some grade A humor there.
Oh. Wow. The guy who was like "Let's fight our way out" is the last man standing? Also, all the other ghosts looking at this guy like "Laying it on a little thick, ain't ya bro?" Welp. None guys left. Cool.
"An honest man does not lie." Pffffft.
Xiaolian is too cute and bubbly. I don't trust her.
Oh thank goodness that ZZS didn't turn around and walk away from the Yueyang gate 10 seconds earlier. XD
Thank goodness for WKX being willing to give us exposition. I love info dumps from him. This man... *shakes head*
WKX: "Who are you hiding from?" ZZS: "The sun."
I wonder how many iterations of this conversation are they going to have?
The jade seller is WKX's plant? Is there anyone not working for WKX randomly?
That guy just had an awakening when Gu Xiang slapped him. Look at her using her powers for good. Oh... Oh... Oh... I know this guy too! It's the actor who played fanboy in Journey of Chongzi (my third favorite character!). Bro got type cast!
My name is... Stinky Girl!
Omg I love the word rascality.
This whole spies and secret codes thing is very cool.
What is even going on? Is WKX jealous of Cao Weining? Poor guy likes Gu Xiang so much! Gu Xiang is like: please go back to your bf and let me hang out with the cute boy. Gu Xiang cannot believe her eyes, seeing ZZS. He let her touch his face. Awww
ZZS: If you were a cute girl, you could touch me too. 🤣
Welp, ZZS, you are doomed. WKX has your money purse now.
love when they do things like this cause you don't always notice until its pointed out
A Youtuber pointed out something about the lighting at the mall in episode 7. It's kind of interesting to think about, and I'm not sure if it was intentional or a happy accident.
First off, the sets of colorful lighting we see when Riley turns on the lights of the mall are the colors of the Lesbian flag. We get hues of pinks and oranges along with a smattering of white lighting.
Secondly, the arcade is decked out in hues of pinks, purples, and blues. Which would represent the bisexual flag.
Again, this could just be a happy accident, but I'm not gonna lie, I can't unsee it anymore.
Thank you to jude on YouTube for pointing this out.
me: (after the force awakens trailer) yeah but why would anyone even have vader’s mask
me: like were the imps just digging around in his pyre on endor for a souvenir? is his skull still in the damn thing?
friend: well I can think of someone who would have taken it.
Anakin, plz.
Ep 7
Translation (google, take it with a pinch of salt)
Almost there..
Anatomical record of the living dead
“The school’s only doctor” and “Frankenstein”..
The PC heads to the seventh dormitory, Mortkranken, and is told that a “mysterious drug” that will break her curse has been developed
Trad with Google (as usual to be taken with a pinch of salt)
Talk about cliffhangers…
You pretty much summed up everything. How come that we’re left with another thousand questions?
I also wonder why the return of our janitor friend.
I just know that season 1 ending will leave us frustrated and full of even more unanswered questions!
I HATE THAT THESE ALWAYS COME OUT ON WORK DAYS I HAVE TO GO TO BED BUT AAAAAAAAAASAAAAAAJDBFHSISNFHDKDJ
NEXT MONTH!!!!!!!! HEY WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT!!!!!!! AT THE END!!!!!
Oh man i feel like not a lot happened but also a lot happened and we got to see a little of everybody and JIN CALLED TAIGA A HYENA AND I LOVE THAT AND THERE'S ANOTHER MERMAID AND HARU KNOWS THE MERMAID???? AND IS WORRIED ABOUT THE MERMAID????? AND NOW EVERYONE KNOWS THE PC IS GONNA TURN AND HE TOLD THEM ABOUT THE KYKLOS BUT WHAT DOES KNOWING THE NAME HELP???
BUT!!! EVERYONE IS ON BOARD FOR THE GALA NOW THANKS TO SOME CASH GETTING THROWN AROUND BY JIN
AND WE LEARNED WHAT YURI'S STIGMA AND ARTIFACT? DO AND JIRO IS SUCH A GOOD DOG DOING WHATEVER YURI WANTS AND HE THINKS IT'S SO FUNNY WHEN YOU'RE SCARED IT MAKES HIM LAUGH AND SMILE AND HE TEASES YOU FOR BEING SCARED AND
AND YURI IS SUCH A GOOBER NEITHER OF THEM KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING I DON'T REALLY KNOW IF YURI'S A DOCTOR EITHER TBH. I THINK HE WAS A FROSTHEIMER AND HE TRANSFERRED OUT WITH SOME SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE. AND JIRO NOT REMMEBERING THINGS WELL AND AND ZENJI!!!! TARO KIRISAKI WORRYING OVER HIS BABY BROTHER JIRO AND HE HOLDS THE DOLL SO DEAR BECAUSE HE CAN'T GO NEAR JIRO JIRO DOESN'T KNOW HE'S THERE
OH AND YURI FUCKIN BLUSHING BECAUSE YOU HELD HIS FUCKIN HAND???? AND THEN USING HIS STIGMA AND BLOWING HIS MIND????
AND AND AND RUI'S SCYTHE'S ABILITY TO CONCEAL HIM IN SHADOW SO HE CAN KEEP AN EYE ON EVERYBODY????? THAT'S SHADY BUT ALSO!!! HE AND TOHMA AND HAKU KIND OF HAVING A CHILL BUT A LITTLE TENSE MEETING? ARE THEY WORKING TOGETHER????
AND AT THE END!!!! HYDE. . .I STILL TRUST HIM BECAUSE THINGS LIKE THIS ARE ALWAYS A RED HERRING SO FAR. THIS IS GONNA BE SOME KIND OF FAKEOUT. IT HAS TO. BUT OH MY GOD THE SUSPENSE??? YOU WANT ME TO WAIT ANOTHER MONTH????
AND THE NEXT CHAPTER WE GO BACK TO SINOSTRA AGAIN FOR ROMEO'S AUCTION OF NIGHTMARES AND MAYBE SHO'S SECRET MISSION AND AAAAAAA
JUST. GOD EVERYTHING!!!! I'M TOO IMPATIENT FOR THIS!!! AND I HAVE TO GO TO WORK IN THE MORNING!!!! I'M ENJOYING THIS WAY TOO MUCH I'M SO INTRIGUED AND EXCITED AND HAVING SO MUCH FUN. . .
Episode 7 - spoilers
Three things I personally loved about the final chapter:
> Ed stepping up to help the PC (silencing the chancellor in the meantime and then fly away in bat form)
> Jin stepping up to help the PC (not that he would ever admit it) by raising the stakes
> The PC being officially part of Hotarubi’s family ❤️
And, as a bonus, this:
Green hair husband always so caring 😍
I’m not saying I’m shipping them BUT it’s hard not to
Sho closing his food truck during peak hours to deliver forks to Subaru? And Subaru blushing? It was absolutely adorable!
Also
Yes yes, he definitely heard that by chance..